The present invention relates so-called large round balers, and more specifically relates to wrapping cylindrical bales of agricultural crops formed in the chambers of large round balers with twine.
It is conventional to wrap cylindrical bales with twine in order to prevent the baled crop from falling apart after being ejected from the baling chamber. These known wrapping devices merely wrap twine onto the circumference of the bale so that, after the twine wrapped on the bale is severed from a supply of twine, the end of the twine is not fastened and lies loosely upon the bale surface. Therefore, depending on the direction of rotation of the bale after it is ejected from the baling chamber, it is possible that the end of the twine will become unwrapped from the bale, with the consequence that the bale falls apart and/or the loose end of the twine interferes with further handling of the bale. U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,249, granted on Dec. 27, 1988, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,701, granted on Dec. 15, 1992, disclose known wrapping devices of this type.
DE 41 32 664 C2 reveals a round baler having a wrapping device like that just described but further includes a first embodiment comprising a toothed wheel mounted in a slot provided in the side wall of the baling chamber, with at least one of the teeth being grooved for engaging twine guided into its path of rotation and embedding the engaged twine into the end of the bale as the wheel is being rotated by the rotating bale, and a second embodiment in which the loose twine end is fastened with an adhesive tape wrapped around the bale.
The problem underlying the invention is seen in the fact that this type of securing of the ends of the twine is relatively costly.